In short
An inheritance does not only drag along the debts the decedent had: also the expenses the inheritance itself generates after the death. The Code calls them hereditary charges and Article 1589 says which they are. Considered hereditary charges are the expenses of the decedent’s funeral; the expenses of the inventory and the other operations of the partition; the expenses of the conservation and administration of the goods of the inheritance; the expenses of delivery of the legacy; the remuneration of the executors; and the other expenses of an analogous nature. That last paragraph matters for what it does to the list: it leaves it open. The Code does not enumerate six closed cases, it enumerates five and adds a catch-all category. This guide reproduces that openness and does not invent what other expenses come in through it. The list matters for where it fits. Article 1587 says the heir answers for the decedent’s obligations, for the legacies and for the hereditary charges exclusively up to the value of the hereditary goods they receive. Article 1589 is what fills that third term: without it, “hereditary charges” would be an expression with no content. What the article does not do is set figures or limits. It does not say how much a funeral charged to the estate may cost, does not say how or by whom the executors’ remuneration is fixed, does not rank the charges against the decedent’s debts or the legacies, and does not say who advances the money before the estate is liquidated. None of that is in the text, and this guide does not fill it in.
What is it?
It is Article 1589 of the Civil Code of 2020: the list of expenses considered hereditary charges and therefore paid out of the estate.
Who can do it?
Whoever inherited and is paying for the burial, the inventory, the partition or the care of the goods, and whoever wants to know what may be charged to the estate.
Requirements
- The expenses of the decedent’s funeral are hereditary charges.Verified against the official source
- The expenses of the inventory and the other operations of the partition, and those of conservation and administration of the goods, are hereditary charges.Verified against the official source
- The expenses of delivery of the legacy and the remuneration of the executors are hereditary charges.Verified against the official source
- The list is left open: paragraph (f) adds the other expenses of an analogous nature.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: What a hereditary charge is
It is not a debt the decedent left: it is an expense the inheritance generates after their death. Article 1589 says which are considered as such.
Step 2: (a) The funeral
The expenses of the decedent’s funeral. The article sets no ceiling and does not say what a funeral includes.
Step 3: (b) The inventory and the partition
The expenses of the inventory and the other operations of the partition. The Code does not describe those operations here.
Step 4: (c) Conserving and administering
The expenses of the conservation and administration of the goods of the inheritance. It is what it costs to keep the estate from deteriorating while it is settled.
Step 5: (d) Delivering the legacies
The expenses of delivery of the legacy. The cost of getting the legacy to the legatee is also a charge on the estate.
Step 6: (e) The executors’ pay
The remuneration of the executors. The article does not say how it is fixed, nor by whom, nor how much it may be.
Step 7: (f) And the analogous ones
The other expenses of an analogous nature. With this paragraph the list stops being closed; the Code gives no examples and neither does this guide.
Step 8: Why the list matters
Because Article 1587 puts the hereditary charges under the same cap as the debts and the legacies: the value of the hereditary goods the heir receives.
Step 9: What the article does not settle
It sets no figures, does not rank the charges against the decedent’s debts or the legacies, and does not say who advances the money before the estate is liquidated.
Where to do it
This article describes no procedure before any agency and does not mention the court: it defines which expenses are charges on the estate. Funeral services themselves have their own guide on this site, with their separate regulation.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If you advanced the burial, the inventory or the care of the goods out of your own pocket, Article 1589 places them among the hereditary charges, that is, among what comes out of the estate. What the article does not do is put a price on them or say in what order they are paid against the decedent’s debts and the legacies: that is not in the text. If the estate does not cover everything, the limit of what the heir answers for is in Article 1587, with its own guide. And note paragraph (f): “the other expenses of an analogous nature” leaves the list open, but the Code does not say how far that analogy reaches, so you will not find an extended list here. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Believing the heir pays the funeral out of pocket: Article 1589 places it among the hereditary charges.
- Thinking the Article 1589 list is closed: paragraph (f) adds the other expenses of an analogous nature.
- Confusing a hereditary charge with a debt of the decedent: they are distinct categories under the same cap of Article 1587.
- Assuming the Code sets a money limit on the funeral or the inventory: there is no figure in the article.
- Believing the Code fixes the executor’s remuneration: it does not say how or by whom it is fixed.
- Forgetting the expenses of delivering the legacy are also a charge on the estate.
- Taking for granted an order of payment among charges, debts and legacies: the article does not establish one.
- Looking here for who advances the money before the estate is liquidated: the Code does not say.
Frequently asked questions
Is the burial paid with money from the estate?
Article 1589 says the expenses of the decedent’s funeral are considered hereditary charges.
Who pays the executor?
Paragraph (e) of Article 1589 places the executors’ remuneration among the hereditary charges. The article does not say how that remuneration is fixed.
Is the list of charges complete?
No. Paragraph (f) adds the other expenses of an analogous nature, so the list is left open.
Is there a money cap on the hereditary charges?
Article 1589 sets no figures. The cap that does exist is in Article 1587: the heir answers up to the value of the hereditary goods they receive.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 11, 2026
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